Healing the Centurion s Servant Lesson Aim: To study Jesus relationship with Gentiles and Jews as revealed in the story of the centurion s servant.

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1 Teacher s Guide: Ages God of Wonders Part 1: Miracles of Jesus Unit 2, Lesson 6 Healing the Centurion s Servant Lesson Aim: To study Jesus relationship with Gentiles and Jews as revealed in the story of the centurion s servant. THE WORSHIP Who God is: Jesus as the God of Healing THE WORD Bible Story: Luke 7:2-8; Matthew 8:10-13 What He has done: Jesus healed the centurion s servant with His words alone. Key Verse: Luke 7:7 THE WAY Christ Connection: Daniel 7:13-14 BIBLE MEMORY VERSE Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. Psalm 103:2-5 Unit 2: Jesus as the God of Healing Bible Story What He Has Done Lesson Aim 6 Healing the Centurion s Servant, Luke 7:2-8; Matthew 8:10-13 Jesus healed the centurion s servant with His words alone. To study Jesus relationship with Gentiles and Jews as revealed in the story of the centurion s servant. 7 Healing the Paralyzed Man, Mark 2: Healing the Sick Woman, Mark 5:24b-34 9 Healing the Deaf and Mute Man, Mark 7: Healing the Ten Men, Luke 17:12-19 Jesus healed and forgave the paralyzed man. Jesus healed the sick woman. Jesus healed the deaf and mute man. Jesus healed the ten men with leprosy. To challenge children to bring their friends to Jesus for healing of their bodies and souls. To challenge children to reach out to Jesus with their unsolvable problems. To hear the salvation message, to be invited to respond to it, and to share it with others. To see how what Jesus does for us and the praise He expects from us changes us for the better. TEACHER S ENCOURAGEMENT This week, read Psalm 103. Please join us in praying, Lord Jesus, You have been given authority and power to heal us. We thank You for Your love and compassion in choosing to heal us. Amen. Permission is granted to reproduce these materials. Not for resale. Use is subject to the Terms of Use available at ResourceWell.org. Terms are subject to change without notice. All other rights are reserved. Page 1 of 11

2 Segment Minutes Activity Supplies THE Up to 15 Meet & Greet None WELCOME Game: Who is the Real One coin, three small balls or marbles Centurion? THE WORSHIP Up to 20 Worship Sheet music and recordings for Bible Memory Verse Songs available at ResourceWell.org Unit 2 Bible Memory Verse Song: Praise the Lord, O My Soul Other Bible Memory Verse Song Suggestions: Heal Me, O Lord He Is Mighty to Save Additional Hymn Suggestions: Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus Give Thanks Additional Song Collection Suggestions: Shout Praises! Kids Gospel Songs 4 Worship KIDS - Awesome God Worship Scripture Reading: Bible Psalm 103:2-5 Offering Baskets Worship Illustration Lesson 6 Bonzai Brothers script or storybook THE WORD Up to 10 Read the Word: Luke 7:2-8; Matthew 8:10-13 Map Capernaum in Ancient Israel, Bibles, Bible Story Scripture reference poster, highlighters THE WAY GOT TIME? Up to 25 Discussion Christ Connection: Daniel 7:13-14 Golden Bowl Bibles, Christ Connection Scripture reference poster, highlighters Golden Bowl, pencils, note cards Final 5 Final Five Minutes Treasure Treat Bible Memory Verse Bookmark with a picture of an eagle, W 3 s, paper, pencils, crayons or markers, Unit 2 Bible Memory Verse Song Praise the Lord, O My Soul, CD player Up to 10 Snack: Centurion s Soldiers Very small wrapped candies Up to 10 Game: Puzzle Race Paper, scissors, printer or marker Up to 10 Craft: Centurion s Feathered Helmet Red felt or sturdy paper, pencils, scissors, tape or glue Up to 10 Discussion: The Feast in Heaven Bible open to Matthew 8:11-12 Up to 10 Bible Memory Verse Activity: Unit 2 Bible Memory Verse poster or Bible Bible Memory Verse Brainstorm Up to 10 Bible Memory Verse Activity: Hot Potato Scramble Sturdy brown paper, Unit 2 Bible Memory Verse Song Praise the Lord, O My Soul, CD player, Bible Memory Verse poster, timer Up to 5 Bible Timeline Review Timeline RESOURCES: Supplemental materials are available at ResourceWell.org. Page 2 of 11

3 Getting started THE WELCOME To spark anticipation, encourage arriving children to meet and greet one another with today s question. Meet & Greet Question: If you were the leader of your country, what is the first thing you would do? GAME: WHO IS THE REAL CENTURION? Purpose: Children will take turns pretending to be centurions to introduce them to the story of Jesus healing the centurion s servant. Supplies: One coin, three small balls or marbles Can anyone tell me what a centurion s job was in Bible times? (Children respond.) Centurions were commanders in the Roman army. Each centurion was in charge of leading 100 soldiers. Centurions gave the orders and their soldiers had to obey right away. In our game, you must guess who is the Real Centurion. Be sure to only obey the Real Centurion s commands! After our game, we will discover why the Roman centurion asked Jesus for help. Directions: 1. Display the four objects: One coin and three balls. Tell children that if they receive a coin, they become the Real Centurion. If they receive a ball, they are regular soldiers and must try to get the other children to think they are the Real Centurion. 2. Instruct all children to sit with their eyes closed and to hold out their hands. 3. Choose one child to be the Real Centurion and place the coin in that child s hand. Choose three other children to be the soldiers and place one ball in each of those children s hands. All four children should close their hands immediately to hide the objects. 4. Children open their eyes on your signal. The Real Centurion and the three soldiers stand up. 5. In random order, ask one of the four soldiers to state a command to the remaining children. (For example: touch your toes, say your name, jump up and down, hop on one foot, spin in a circle, stand on one foot, put your hand on your head, etc.) 6. Any children who think the order was spoken by the Real Centurion should obey the order. 7. Let each of the four children take a turn stating an order. The other children may each choose only one child to obey as the Real Centurion. 8. Reveal the Real Centurion. 9. Collect the coin and balls and play again. Page 3 of 11

4 Jesus as the God of Healing THE WORSHIP Teacher Tip: To help children identify time set aside for worship, designate a special corner or area for singing, collecting offering, and watching the worship illustration. Play music as children move to the designated area. The Seven Stars of Lent If this lesson is taught during the Lenten season (the 40 days before Easter), we recommend the Seven Stars of Lent activity located at ResourceWell.org under Children Other Resources. Choose one star for each week of the Lent season. Today, we worship Jesus as the God of Healing. Jesus is in charge of everything, including the miracle of healing our diseases, forgiving our sins, and giving us what we need. Our new Bible Memory verses, from Psalm 103, were written by David. He praised the Lord by remembering the many good things He does for us. Another word for the good things the Lord does is benefits. You may choose to sing songs that focus on God s forgiveness. As we give our offering today, let s ask God to use this money in bringing good things to many people. Sing Unit 2 Bible Memory Verse Song: Praise the Lord, O My Soul as the offering is collected. Read Psalm 103:2-5. Perform Bonzai Brothers script or read storybook: God of Wonders Unit 2, Lesson 6. Page 4 of 11

5 Jesus healed the centurion s servant THE WORD Teacher Tip: As you move from worship to instruction, change rooms or locations within a room to help redirect the children s focus to the Bible story. During this transition time, have each child write his or her name on a card and place it in the Golden Bowl. Before we read God s Word, let s go over our Class Covenant. A covenant is an agreement. Just as God made a covenant with His people, I ask each of you to make this covenant promise with me today. Listen as I read our Class Covenant: I will keep my eyes on my teacher, my mouth in control, my ears on God s Word; knowing God is my goal. Last time, we learned how Jesus fed five thousand people with just one meal from a young boy. What did the boy give Jesus? (Two small fish and five small loaves of bread.) Today, we will hear about a miracle that took place in Capernaum, a town near the Sea of Galilee. If a map of Ancient Israel is available, point to Capernaum on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. In those days, the Roman government ruled over Israel. A centurion was a Roman officer who was given control over 100 soldiers. Romans were Gentiles (non-jews), so they did not worship God. In the town of Capernaum, there was a good centurion who loved the Jewish people and had built their synagogue so they could worship. One day the centurion s servant became so ill, he was paralyzed he could not move his arms, legs, or body. This Bible story is found in the books of Luke and Matthew. Both describe the same miracle. Luke s report has details about the relationships between the centurion, the Jews, and the servant. Matthew s report has details that helped the Jewish people understand who Jesus was and what He had come to do. As we read these two versions of the same story, listen for the differences in which details each writer noted as important. Let s play Find It First! Bring out your Bible; keep it right in front of you. Hand out spare Bibles. Today s Scripture verse is behind the curtain (or secret door, secret window, etc.). Child reveals the Bible Story Scripture reference: Luke 7:2-8; Matthew 8: Let s see who can find Luke 7:2-8 first. Ready? Set? Go! Children race to find it first. The winner helps others find it. Let s highlight our Key Verse: Luke 7:7. Before we read, let s stand and ask God to open our eyes, ears, hearts, and minds to His Word today. Who would like to pray that for us? Child prays aloud. Be seated. Listen carefully as we read what happened according to Luke. Read Luke 7:2-8. Now, let s hear how Matthew describes the end of the story. Open your Bible to Matthew 8: Read Matthew 8: Page 5 of 11

6 We can have faith like the centurion THE WAY To have the kind of faith that pleases Jesus, as the centurion did, we must truly believe Jesus is in control of everything. What did the centurion believe about Jesus? (Children respond.) Because of the centurion s faith, what did Jesus choose to do? (Heal the servant.) Does this mean if we have this kind of faith, we are guaranteed to receive the healing or other miracle we desire? (Children respond.) Did the centurion s faith heal the servant? (No.) There is no amount of faith, no good behavior, and no secret wording we can use to control which miracles Jesus will perform. That s because Jesus is truly in control of everything. What are some differences you noticed between the reports from Matthew and Luke? (Matthew included Jesus words about the feast. Luke included details about the centurion s relationship with the Jews.) The Jews believed the promised Savior would save only the faithful Jews who did right in God s eyes. In both reports, how did Jesus say the centurion s faith compared to the faith of the Jews? (The centurion s faith was greater.) In Matthew s report, who did Jesus say would come to the feast in the kingdom of heaven? (Many from the east and west, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.) How did this show the Jews that Jesus had come for Gentiles as well as Jews? (Children respond.) Jesus words about the feast show there is no religion, family history, or good behavior we can use to control our future or to guarantee us a place in the kingdom of heaven. In those days, most Jews disliked the Roman centurions. Why then, did the Jews beg Jesus to help the centurion in this story? (They liked the centurion because he loved the Jewish people and had built their synagogue.) What did Jesus say about the centurion s faith? ( I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. ) Everyone would have been surprised to hear Jesus say this about a Gentile. The Jews thought the Savior was coming to save only the Jewish people. Did Jesus come for only one nation or one type of people? (No. In John 3:16, Jesus says, whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. ) Jesus is in control of everything, including how and when we are healed. He chooses the perfect timing. When has Jesus answered your prayer in an unexpected way or at an unexpected time? (Children respond.) Why is it important to look for what Jesus is choosing to do instead of waiting to see what we want or expect Him to do? (Children respond.) Do you have faith, as the centurion did, that Jesus can heal anyone? (Children respond.) Do you know someone who is sick? (Children respond.) How can you talk to Jesus about that person? (Pray.) Connecting the Old Testament, the New Testament, and Us CHRIST CONNECTION Someone in authority has the power to give orders. Authority belongs to the one in control. What kind of authority was Jesus given? (Children respond.) God gave Daniel the answer to this question in a dream hundreds of years before Jesus came to earth. Let s check it out. FIND IT FIRST> Everyone, place your Bible closed on your lap. Choose a child to reveal the Christ Connection Scripture reference: Daniel 7: Let s see who can Find It First! Ready? Set? Go! Find it and highlight it. Read Daniel 7: The Son of Man is another name for Jesus. How long will Jesus authority last? (Forever.) Page 6 of 11

7 THE WAY continued Revelation 5:8 GOLDEN BOWL Teacher Tip: Write the names of classmates, local church leaders, and children in other nations or others who need prayer on small pieces of paper. Place the papers in a golden bowl. Revelation 5:8 says our prayers are like sweet smelling incense in the golden bowls at God s throne. I m going to lift each one of your names to God s throne as you pray for each person silently. Then, we will pray the Lord s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13) aloud together. Let s pray. Lord God, we lift up to Your throne the name of each child here. We trust You to watch over us and our needs, the ones we say aloud and the ones hidden in our hearts. First, we lift up to You,,. Read names in Golden Bowl. Now, we pray the prayer Your Son taught us: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. When only 5 minutes remain, begin this segment. FINAL FIVE MINUTES TREASURE TREAT: Today, your Treasure Treat is a Psalm 103:2-5 Bible Memory Verse bookmark. Review the Bible Memory Verse with your students. Talk about what each phrase means. Point out the eagle on the bookmark. If you have time, use the Bible Memory Verse Brainstorm Game in Got Time? We can have faith like the centurion because we know the Lord can do all things. W 3 : Take home today s W 3 Journal Entry as your personal devotional study. Keep your journal entries together at home in a notebook or in your Bible. Distribute W 3 Journal Entry #6. Complete this at home and let God speak to you through His own words in the Bible! OFFERING OF ART: Until it is time to be dismissed, let s make an Offering of Art. For your offering, draw a picture of Jesus speaking the words for the servant to be healed. The Offering of Art can be finished at home or given as an offering for the teacher to display. PRAYER REQUESTS: As children work on their Offering of Art, ask how you can pray for them this week. Write requests in a prayer notebook. BIBLE MEMORY VERSE SONG: Play the Unit 2 Bible Memory Verse Song, Praise the Lord, O My Soul, in the background as children wait to be dismissed. Page 7 of 11

8 If time remains, choose from the connected activities below. GOT TIME? SNACK: CENTURION S SOLDIERS Purpose: Children will eat a snack while discussing Jesus control over all things. Snack Suggestion: Very small wrapped candies What was the Roman centurion s job? (He commanded 100 soldiers.) The centurion had control over the soldiers, and they knew to obey his commands. Let s count 100 of these candies to see how many soldiers the centurion commanded. If you have a large group, divide into smaller groups and let each group count out 100 candies. The centurion had control over 100 men, but Jesus has control over all things! Directions: 1. Serve the snack and drink. Divide the 100 candies evenly among the children. 2. Child prays to thank God for the snack. 3. Ask the Snack Discussion Question: Who is one person you should obey? GAME: PUZZLE RACE Purpose: For children to discover more about the commands of Jesus. Supplies: Paper Prepare: Print each of the following verses (scripture verse and reference) on separate sheets of paper: Mark 12:29-30, Luke 8:25, Mark 1:27, John 18:10-11, John 15:12. Cut each paper into puzzle pieces to create five puzzles of equal difficulty. What happens when someone in control gives a command? (The command is obeyed.) What happened when Jesus commanded the servant to be healed? (He was healed.) What did Jesus have to do in addition to giving the command for the servant to be healed? (Nothing.) Jesus has control over all things. What are some other commands He gave? Let s play a puzzling game to find out! Directions: 1. Divide children into five teams. 2. Give a puzzle set to each team. 3. On your signal, teams race to put together their puzzles. 4. After the teams have completed their puzzles, read the verse on each team s puzzle out loud. 5. After each verse is read, ask: Who or what did Jesus command to obey Him in this verse? (Children respond.) How should that person or thing obey Him? (Children respond.) Page 8 of 11

9 GOT TIME? continued CRAFT: CENTURION S FEATHERED HELMET Purpose: Children will make a centurion s helmet pencil topper to remind them of the story of Jesus healing the centurion s servant. Supplies: Red felt or sturdy paper, pencils, scissors, tape or glue Prepare: From felt or sturdy paper, cut a 6-inch diameter circle. Make a ¼-inch slit in the center. In Bible times, Roman centurions had special uniforms. Typically their uniforms included a helmet with many red feathers. Let s make a feathered helmet for your pencil to help remind you of today s Bible story. Directions: 1. Place the eraser end of the pencil through the ¼-inch slit in the center of the red circle. 2. Secure the red circle to the pencil with glue or tape, carefully pulling the edges of the circle upward so the eraser end of the pencil is completely concealed. 3. Use scissors to make small slits from the top edge of the circle down toward the eraser. 4. Continue making slits all the way around the circle. The end result should be a tall, red fringe of feathers standing up around the eraser end of the pencil. DISCUSSION: THE FEAST IN HEAVEN Purpose: Children will discuss Matthew 8:11-12 in more depth. Supplies: Bible open to Matthew 8:11-12 Let s read Matthew 8:11-12 again. Have a volunteer read Matthew 8: These verses explain that those in the earthly kingdom of Israel who do not understand the authority of Jesus will be left in the darkness, outside the heavenly kingdom of God. How do you think the Jewish people felt to discover Jesus came for all people, not just Jews? (Children respond.) Jesus also talked about a future feast in heaven. All who believe in God, the Father, and in His Son, Jesus, will be invited to that feast. What do you think that feast in heaven will be like? (Children respond.) What will we eat? (Children respond.) Jesus said Abraham, Isaac and Jacob will be there. Who else do you think will be there? (Children respond.) Who would you like to sit next to at the feast in heaven? (Children respond.) Page 9 of 11

10 GOT TIME? continued BIBLE MEMORY VERSE ACTIVITIES Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. Psalm 103:2-5 GAME: BIBLE MEMORY VERSE BRAINSTORM Purpose: Children will discuss the meaning of the Unit 2 Bible Memory Verse. Supplies: Unit 2 Bible Memory Verse poster or Bible Our new Bible Memory Verse comes from Psalm 103:2-5. Let s read each line together from the poster. After each line, raise your hand if you can tell us what it means. Praise the Lord, O my soul (Let the deepest part of you tell God how great He is!) And forget not all His benefits (Don t forget all the wonderful things God has done for you.) Who forgives all your sins (Jesus forgives all our wrong doings.) And heals all your diseases (Jesus can heal anything and anyone.) Who redeems your life from the pit (He paid for your life by dying on the cross.) And crowns you with love and compassion (His love and caring is like a treasured crown.) Who satisfies your desires with good things (He makes you happy with good things.) So that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. (Your strength is refreshed.) Teacher Tip: For an extra challenge, form eight teams. Assign a different phrase to each team. Have teams discuss the meaning of the phrase and create a poster to help them describe the meaning to the rest of the children. Teams take turns explaining their posters. GAME: HOT POTATO SCRAMBLE Purpose: In this variation of the Hot Potato game, children quickly pass their paper potatoes around the circle and then put the Unit 2 Bible Memory Verse in order once the music stops. Supplies: Sturdy brown paper, Unit 2 Bible Memory Verse Song Praise the Lord, O My Soul, CD player, Bible Memory Verse poster, timer Prepare: Divide the Unit 2 Bible Memory Verse into five or more phrases. From sturdy brown paper, cut a paper potato for each phrase. Write a different phrase on each potato. Add symbols or pictures for non-readers. Display Bible Memory Verse poster. Directions: 1. Children stand in a circle. 2. Repeat the Bible Memory Verse several times together. 3. Scramble the order of the paper potatoes ( hot potatoes ). Distribute the hot potatoes. 4. Play the Unit 2 Bible Memory Verse Song Praise the Lord, O My Soul. 5. As if the potatoes are too hot to hold, each child quickly passes the hot potatoes to the child on his or her left and receives another hot potato from the child on his or her right. 6. Continue passing the hot potatoes around the circle until the song is stopped. 7. Periodically stop the song. When the music stops, the children with a hot potato race to the center of the circle and place them in the correct order of the Bible Memory Verse. 8. Play again, as time allows. 9. Optional: Time the children and challenge them to get a faster time each round. Page 10 of 11

11 GOT TIME? continued BIBLE TIMELINE REVIEW Review the recent Bible stories studied to see the continuing story of who God is and what He has done. Create or purchase a Bible Timeline. Hang your timeline on a wall or other visible location. Point to the Bible Timeline and ask the corresponding questions to review recent lessons. Healing Jairus Daughter (Circa A.D.) What did Jairus do when his daughter became ill? (He went to Jesus and asked for healing.) Jesus encouraged him to believe in God s healing. What are the three ways God heals us? (Right away, along the way, and someday in heaven.) Feeding the Five Thousand (Circa A.D. ) What did the boy offer Jesus? (Five loaves of bread and two fish.) Jesus distributed the boy s loaves of bread and fish. Did each person in the crowd have enough to eat? (Yes.) How many baskets of leftovers were there? (12.) Healing the Centurion s Servant (Circa A.D.) What did the centurion ask Jesus to do? (Heal his servant.) How did the centurion know Jesus could heal his servant without touching him? (He knew if Jesus gave the order for the servant to be healed, that it would happen just as Jesus said it would.) How to create a Bible Timeline for the Miracles of Jesus: 1. Print each story title on a card or paper cutout of a footprint. 2. Attach footprints to a wall or clothesline in the order below for God of Wonders Lessons 1-21, so children can follow in Jesus footsteps as they review past lessons in the study of the miracles of Jesus. The Miracles of Jesus: (Circa A.D.) Changing Water into Wine > Filling the Nets > Calming the Storm > Healing Jairus Daughter > Feeding the Five Thousand > Healing the Centurion s Servant > Healing the Paralyzed Man > Healing the Sick Woman > Healing the Deaf and Mute Man > Healing the Ten Men > Banishing an Evil Spirit > Saving the Official s Son > Walking on Water > Giving Sight to the Man Born Blind > Raising Lazarus > Riding into Jerusalem > The Miracle of Easter > Appearing to the Disciples > Appearing to Thomas > Appearing on the Shore > Ascending into Heaven Note: God of Wonders Part One studies the miracles of Jesus, which took place during His public ministry (Circa A.D.). This list is not chronological, as the Bible does not give a definitive order of the miracles. For a comprehensive list of Genesis through Revelation stories in timeline form, see ResourceWell.org. Page 11 of 11